There have been disclosed quaternary ammonium salts which can undergo thermal cleavage to yield acids in our U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,066,722 and 5,070,161. These compounds are useful as curing catalysts for one-part thermosetting resin compositions which are stable during storage at room temperature.
In the above cited patent literature, these compounds have been synthesized through two reaction processes: (a) According to a conventional method for the synthesis of quaternary ammonium salts, an amine corresponding to the final product is first subjected to the reaction with a corresponding benzyl halide (i.e. a quaternizing agent) to obtain a quaternary ammonium halide. (b) Then, the halide anion of thus obtained quaternary ammonium halide are replaced with a desired anion.